Xu You didn't know what to ask Dong Solstice to investigate that monk, of course, not because of his handsomeness. Speaking of style, Gu Yun is not inferior at all, but a very subtle feeling, as if there is something magical fermenting between the two, attracting him to understand the reality of the other party.

In his previous life, Xu You once read a book about people's magnetic fields, as if you will always meet or hear someone who looks very similar to you somewhere, and the same is true for magnetic fields. Some people hit it off at first sight, just like old friends who have known each other for more than ten years, they are magnetic, and some people have never met, but at first sight, they are like enemies, and it is also because the magnetic field is not right.

Let's not talk about whether this theory is correct or not, at least at this moment, Xu You obeyed the thoughts in his heart and cast a curious glance at the monk.

"Let's go, go to Sibaofang!"

Pen, ink, paper, inkstone, the four treasures of the study, if you want to buy the best pen, the best paper, Sibaofang, which is located in a lively area of Dongshi, is a unique choice in Qiantang City. Entered the workshop, the nose was full of paper and ink, the shopkeeper was a thin old man, tall and tall, he should be a beautiful man when he was young, he listened to Xu You's intention, and took out all kinds of famous papers in the store, some Xu You recognized, some of which were new after the historical confusion, he didn't recognize it very much, and listened to the shopkeeper introduced: "...... Zuo Bo paper is wonderful, Bailu paper is Yingze, Gutian paper is firm, mulberry paper is tough, half fish paper is strong, rattan paper is green and white, and the paper is beautiful and transparent, all of which are of high quality......"

He took out a piece of Zuobo paper casually, took a pen and dipped it in ink, and with a light touch, the ink gathered but did not disperse. Xu You praised: "Yan Miao glow, a little like lacquer, Zuo Bo paper is made of calendering, and the name is well deserved." ”

"Lang Jun is an expert!"

The shopkeeper was amazed and said, "Many scholars only know how to buy expensive ones, but they don't know that paper also has a temperament. Some are mild, some are dry, mild are suitable for ink dyeing, and dry are suitable for books, such as Zuo Bo paper, which has four temperaments of longevity, complexity, antiquity, and tenacity, which are not vulgar, and are my favorite paper products! Smiled and took a piece of paper as white as frost and snow, and wrote a "fish" word with a pen, between the horizontal and vertical, the edge is dark, although it is not very good, but at a glance you know that you have worked calligraphy.

"Lang Jun looks at this half-fish note again, what do you think?"

Delicate, evenly densified, bright and full color without distortion, no clear lines can be seen in the sunlight, I don't know what paper medicine is added, or filled with rubber. Xu You listened to it sincerely, and said, "Half a fish note? Is there any difference from the usual fish note used in eight-line books? "When Zhan Wenjun was leaving, he sent him a letter from the winter solstice, using fish notes, this kind of paper is soft and smooth, like virgin skin, so it is often used by the girls of Chu as a necessary thing to pour out their hearts.

This is the palace of the land palm using the cold winter thin ice to break up, borrowing the Yizhou fish note method, with the improvement of the technique to make the new paper, only a month ago from the Jinling side to Yangzhou to come, soon popular in the four counties, sought after by the scribes. Lu palm makes the small character half fish, so it is called half a fish note, and the market is also called broken ice paper! ”

Lu Zhang?

Xu You remembered that he had seen Lu Lingzi, the master of the inner mansion, who had copied Lu Lingzi in Yuan's mansion, and this woman was called "rhyme outside the rhyme, incense outside the fragrance", and Yuan Qingqi, who was dazzling in her heart.

"It turned out to be a paper made by Lu Banyu, so I have to buy more. At the autumn equinox, Zuobo, Vine, Huang, and Half Fish, each of these four kinds of paper will take 500 sheets. Xu You and the shopkeeper are very happy, in fact, these papers are not very satisfied, such as Zuobo paper, or the old process, with rags, bark and old fishing nets as raw materials, it takes a long time, the procedure is cumbersome, and the best masters who make Zuobo paper are in Qingzhou, and the level here in Qiantang is far worse.

The shopkeeper ordered someone to accompany the autumn equinox to get the paper, a piece of paper elsewhere according to the size of the blue and white, three to five cents, the cheapest paper in the four treasure square is 12 wen, the expensive one is 18 to 25 wen, and it is expensive! He also saw that Xu You was really a big connoisseur, not just talking, thinking about one or two, and said: "In fact, the best paper in Qiantang is from He Paper, and my Four Treasures Fang can do business for 20 years. It's just that Lang Jun came unfortunately, and the last few horses were bought by a regular customer, and now there is no Yuhe paper to sell in the store. ”

"Yuhe?"

"Yes, the rattan paper of Sanwu is well-known in the world, and everyone knows that the rattan in Huiji County is the most precious, but I don't know that Wu County also has a rattan from He."

Xu You had heard the name of Youquan, that is, Jiaxing in the future, but he had never heard of Youhe. However, since it is a place in Kure-gun, it is not surprising to find wild vines suitable for papermaking.

"From the depths of Heshan many wild vines, used to make paper for the top quality. At the foot of the mountain is He Village, and there is a paper craftsman in the village, named Fang Kang, who made the paper from He. ”

"Oh, where does this craftsman make a living?"

"I used to work in an old workshop, but ......"

Xu You saw that he was embarrassed, and said sincerely: "It's okay for the shopkeeper to speak up, I just want to find a few good papers, and I don't want to inquire about the secret affairs of your shop!" ”

The shopkeeper smiled bitterly: "It's not a secret matter...... See the shop across the street? ”

When Xu You came, he saw that the street shop opposite was being decorated, and the big plaque had not yet been hung up.

Jubao Zhai!

"My name is Sibao, he is called Jubao, gathering the treasures of the world, and his mouth is very big!"

Xu You understood, it turned out that a competitor was going to fight in the ring, and said with a smile; "Don't get in the way, the store has been in business for more than 20 years, and there are many customers, so it may not be lost."

The shopkeeper sighed and said a little lonely: "I'm old...... Besides, he didn't have as much money as others, so he paid twice the price to hire all the skilled craftsmen and clever and capable waiters in the workshop, otherwise we wouldn't have met when Lang Jun came to the workshop today. ”

Xu You was used to business competition in his previous life, and the trick of poaching people from each other belonged to the most basic operational category, but that was the business model thousands of years later, who would have thought that in this era, someone would have hit the opponent by poaching people with a salary increase?

Although the ancients had profiteers, most of them still had to be face-saving, after all, there were not so many floating populations, and they were all acquaintances, and they needed to rely on word-of-mouth to win.

"Although the goods are profit-seeking, we must also pay attention to benevolence, righteousness and morality, and the other party is not afraid of being blamed if they do this?"

The shopkeeper sighed again and said, "The owner of Jubao Zhai is called Liu Yan, who was originally my neighbor. His father, Liu Zhengyang, was a good friend of mine, and in his early years, he traveled all over the world to find famous teachers, and had a good friendship. Unexpectedly, during a mountain forest appreciation, Liu Zhengyang stumbled and rolled down the cliff, and even the bones were not found, leaving orphans and widows, causing the family to fall into the middle of the road. Later, Liu Yan heard some rumors from someone, saying that I coveted the gold and silver that my father carried with me, secretly sought money and killed him, and since then I have made a feud. ”

Xu You just listened, and did not make comments, he understood a truth when he was very young, knowing people and knowing faces but not hearts, seeing may not be true, hearing may not be true, people's hearts are repeated, the most elusive, this store may have been wronged, or it may have really killed Liu Zhengyang, all in between.

However, this matter has nothing to do with him, so he listens to it. The shopkeeper continued: "When Liu Yan grew up, he first messed with those rangers, and then he didn't know who he offended, and he was expelled from Qiantang County and exiled to Guangzhou. He shook his head, as if it was inconvenient to reveal something, and said: "I don't know what kind of livelihood I did, but I actually saved a lot of money in three or five years, and on the day I returned to Qiantang, I carried three boatloads of rice and grain, and I made tens of thousands of dollars when I changed hands." As you can see, he bought the shop opposite, changed it to Jubao Zhai, and hired all my people, leaving only an empty name in Sibaofang...... I know he's going to get revenge......"

"Bell! Heavy snow closed the door, and the order was given that the East Market will be closed in half an hour today. Several doormen on the street knocked on the gong and read aloud: "...... I hope to turn around and make an early trip! ”。

The shopkeeper suddenly woke up from a person's muttering, looked at Xu You with a little embarrassment, and said, "Old and faint, what are you doing to Lang Jun about these old things?" By the way, Fang Kang just mentioned, he was righteous to me and didn't want to go to Jubaozhai to do things, but he was coerced by Liu Yan to invite a ranger, so he simply quit his job and went back to Youhe Village. If Lang Jun can find him and ask him to make a few horses of Yuhe paper for you, it will be easier to use than today! ”

"Thank you!"

After asking Fang Kang's address, thirty or forty miles northwest of Qiantang City, Xu You took advantage of the rise and said, "There is nothing to do, do you want to walk in the snow to find plums?" ”

He Wei smiled and said, "Since Qilang is interested, dare to disobey his fate?" But this is not treading the snow to find plums, but treading the snow to find the prescription! ”

The autumn equinox and the winter solstice applauded together, they are girlish, bored at home is really boring, if you can take advantage of the snow to go out to play, why not? There is nothing to do with frost, if she wants to choose, she would rather sit in the snow and sit in the warm room to read and stroke the piano, but she has a delicate heart, and she will not because she has swept everyone's interest, so she naturally agrees.

Zuo Yan was a little older, and he was more thoughtful, and said: "Now the snow on the road is not deep, and it is not difficult to rush to Youhe Village, but I can't come back before the city gate is closed. ”

"I really can't come back, so I'll spend one night in Youhe Village, and it's not too late to leave tomorrow!" Xu You made up his mind, ordered Zuo Yan to find a car dealer to rent two ox carts, and the group braved the snow to go out of the city and drove towards Youhe Village

The road was bumpy, and the two-wheeled ox cart was really not comfortable to ride, Xu You had a plan in his heart, but he didn't say it to He Wei. It was not difficult to improve the technology of the ox cart, he had studied this knowledge in later generations, and the difficulty was to find a suitable time to do it.

Chatting along the way, writing poems and singing songs, Xu You and He Wei are both experts in reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles, and staying with them is to stay for three or five days without doing anything, and they will not be bored. More than 40 miles is not too far, but it is not too close, and the snow road is not easy to travel, until the end of the time to arrive at Youhe Village.

It was cold and frozen, and there was no one in the village walking outside, and Lu Shuang knocked on the door of a farmer's house, and the villagers were very enthusiastic, leading Xu You and others directly to Fang Kang's house. Fang Kang is about thirty years old, has been working for many years, his face is carved with deep wrinkles, his body is slightly rickety, and his hands are bruised and thin. Yangzhou is known as the land of fish and rice, rich and prosperous, but the people below are still suffering from life, although they are not starving to death, but they may not live very happily.

Xing, the people suffer; Death, the people suffer!

Fang Kang was nervous at first, for fear that it would be those rangers chasing after him and forcing him, but when he heard Xu You's intentions, he breathed a sigh of relief and welcomed everyone into the house. The furnishings in the room are shabby, all of them are ordinary household utensils, and there are two dirty stools on the ground, Xu You did not dislike it at all, lifted the placket and sat down, and said with a smile: "Sir, please sit down too!" ”

Fang Kang has never heard anyone call him Mr. since he was born, and said nervously: "Lang Jun said that he laughed, what kind of gentleman is the little old man, that is only worthy of the talents." ”

Xu You didn't mean to laugh at all, and said: "Mr. can do what people can't, find another way, and recreate Youhe paper in addition to Yanxi paper, how can those talents who only know how to play with their mouths can compare?" Well deserved! ”

Fang Kang was deeply frightened, and he didn't know how to reply. He is used to being a subordinate person, and he feels normal when he is instructed to shout, but he is so respected, but he is wrong.

Zuo Yan still understood the mentality of these people, talked a few words about homely things, and asked about this year's crop harvest, and after chatting in a few words, Fang Kang relaxed a lot and said, "...... The people in the village call me old ginger because I like to add a few drops of ginger juice when I eat, if Lang Jun doesn't like it, just call me old ginger! ”

"It's good!"

Xu You was not difficult for him, and said, "Old Jiang, why don't you go to Jubaozhai to do things?" ”

"Alas, the old shopkeeper is not thin on me, although I have not read a book, I don't understand those big truths, but I also know that you can't be ungrateful. Jubao Zhai's Liu Yan is the old shopkeeper grew up watching from a young age, he had no overnight food at home at that time, if it weren't for the old shopkeeper from time to time to help, I'm afraid he would have starved to death, now it's good, just made a fortune to find trouble with the old shopkeeper. ”

"Listen to the shopkeeper, you and him have only been in the past two or three years, how do you know these things?"

Fang Kang was stunned and said, "What the old shopkeeper said, there will be no fake, right?" ”

Listening to and believing is a bad habit of many people, Xu You has no intention of correcting him, and he knows that he can't correct it, so he smiled and said: "Yes, there will be no fake." ”

"Yes, how could the old shopkeeper kill Liu Zhengyang? That's all nonsense from others, and you can't do it true. Fang Kang said gratefully from the bottom of his heart: "The people I knew and didn't know at the beginning laughed at me for being crazy, so I wanted to turn the black mountain vines in the back mountain, which were useless even for burning materials, into paper." Only the old shopkeeper supported me, believed in me, and gave me a chance, and this kindness is not enough even if I die! ”

Xu You was curious about this, and said, "Old Jiang, how did you come up with the idea of using black mountain rattan to make paper?" ”

"Making rattan paper requires tender skin under the stem of the wild vine, and it must be green and tender new branches, and the old stem bark cannot be used, so the cost is huge, and the general wild vine can not make a few pieces of paper to be cut off. Only the wisteria of Yanxi, the tender skin under the stem accounts for four or five tenths of the whole branch, which is the most popular among the paper mills, and slowly makes everyone mistakenly think that only the wisteria of Yanxi can make paper, but in fact, it is not like that! ”

Speaking of professional issues, Fang Kang seemed to be a different person, his dark and thin face was shining, full of confidence, and said: "As for the black vine, some people have tried, but the pulp and water from the wood vertebrae are not pure enough, and the paper copied is not white, and the texture is thick, so it is abandoned." As everyone knows, before copying, several paper medicines are added to the pulp, and black rattan paper is no less than wisteria paper, or even better! ”

Xu You knew a lot about papermaking during this period, most of which were hemp, bark and rattan bark, but rattan paper was indeed as Fang Kang said, due to the problem of raw materials, the output has not been able to rise. The most famous anecdote is that Xie An once asked Wang Xizhi for rattan paper, Wang Xizhi's number is a book saint, and there is the most paper stored at home, Xie An has no paper to practice calligraphy, and there is no place to buy it, so he can only ask Wang Xizhi for help. Wang Xizhi didn't drop the chain, and gave Xie An 90,000 pieces of rattan paper in one go, according to the price at that time, there were about more than 2 million yuan, and this friendship was very passable!

The so-called paper medicine of Fang Kang, the earliest record of the appearance was in the Southern Song Dynasty, "Where the paper is picked, it must be newly pounded with the leaves of the yellow hollyhock stem, so that it can be teased, and if there is none, it can not be revealed." If there is no yellow sunflower, star fruit vines, hibiscus leaves, and wild grapes can be used, but they are not sticky. "Marshmallow stem leaf juice is paper medicine, but the role of paper medicine is not only used for paper, but also to adjust the water filtration, improve the curtain, make the paper fiber uniform, improve the paper rate, etc., that is to say, where handmade paper, paper medicine is an indispensable process, but also the craftsmen of this era rely on the greatest dependence on making a living, who has mastered the method of adding paper medicine, it has exclusively mastered a certain paper manufacturing method.

By He paper, it is Fang Kang's exclusive secret recipe!

"Do you use the juice of the green tung stem, or the juice of the peach vine?" Xu You asked suddenly.

"Huh? I, the sheep I use...... No, it can't be, I didn't even tell the old shopkeeper about this thing, you, how do you know? Fang Kang suddenly covered his mouth, looked at Xu You like a ghost, and couldn't say a word. He was simple by nature and hadn't experienced much in the world, so he was deceived by Xu You, and he told the truth.

In fact, it is not a fraud, and the two kinds of paper medicines used to make rattan paper are recorded in great detail in later generations. In addition to the wisteria of Yanxi in the Six Dynasties, there are chicken blood vines, southern snake vines, green vines, and black vines can all make paper, and the paper medicine used is nothing more than Qingtong stem juice and sheep peach vine juice. Fang Kang may also use other medicines to make the paper products of black rattan paper better than wisteria paper, but everything is the same, and the most fundamental and main thing must be one of the two.

"You don't have to be afraid, the black rattan paper belongs to you, I won't use it, and I won't tell others!" Xu You first gave him a reassuring pill and said, "I came today to invite you out of the mountain to make paper for me." Of course, it is neither hemp paper nor rattan paper, but bamboo paper! ”

"Bamboo paper?" Fang Kangru listened to the book of heaven, didn't believe it, and said: "Bamboo is hard and skinless, how can it be made of paper?" ”

"Before Cai Hou paper, who wanted to make hemp into paper? Before the rattan bark, who wanted rattan skin to be made into paper? Xu You said with a smile: "I believe in your character, you can first tell you the method of making bamboo paper, a total of five steps, chopping bamboo drifting pond, boiling the foot fire, swinging the material into the curtain, covering the curtain and pressing the paper, and drying through the fire." ”

As for the papermaker, paper processing technology, and most importantly, the dyeing process that is beyond people's cognition at that time, the difference between raw and cooked paper, etc., Xu You tasted it lightly, picked a few things and said casually, which made Fang Kang listen to it fascinated, and almost regarded him as a generation of grandmaster-level figures like Cai Lun and Zuo Bo who created papermaking, and almost knelt down to worship.

"You spend a bitter cold in the village, go to the city with me, a thousand wen a month, and give another gift during the New Year's holidays, okay?"

Fang Kang agreed to Xu You's invitation without hesitation, he followed the shop in Sibaofang as a papermaker for three years, and he was a little uncomfortable with life in the village.

"Lang Jun, I also have a daughter, sixteen years old, not married, I wonder if I can go with me? Just be a rough girl in Langjun's mansion, don't pay money, just take care of food and clothes! ”